Ore Oduba reveals how Strictly Come Dancing success gave him the ‘golden ticket’ to step back from TV

Ore Oduba revealed how his Strictly Come Dancing success gave him the ‘golden ticket’ to step back from presenting roles and revive his dream of becoming a stage star.

The 39-year-old TV presenter, who was best known as a presenter before his Glitterball victory eight years ago, always felt like something was missing in his life.

In an exclusive interview with The sunhe said: ‘Absolutely Strictly helped me realize the truth. I thought I had died a long time ago as a child. So I feel very happy in this job. I’m doing something I never thought was even possible.’

Ore first took the stage as an eight-year-old boy in a school production, where he sang for parents and students.

Bitten by the performance bug, he played in amateur shows until he was seventeen.

But his dream of performing professionally died soon after he left teaching, with no conversation about how he could pursue this as a career.

The TV presenter, 39, who was best known as a presenter before winning the Glitterball eight years ago, always felt like something was missing in his life (pictured with Joanne Clifton 2016)

In a new interview he said: ‘Absolutely Strictly helped me realize the truth. I thought I had died a long time ago as a child. So I feel very happy in this job. I’m doing something I never thought was possible’ (photo 2016)

He continued: “It was, until I did Strictly. It was like being hit on the head and the birds around you were tweeting and saying, ‘Oh, wait a minute, this is what I used to do.’

He then added, “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never done it in this environment before, but this was like my first love.”

He also confessed that if he and Joanne Clifton hadn’t won the 2016 series, he doesn’t think he would have pursued his dream career.

Ore added that he “loved performing on Strictly” and knew he had something “really special that not many people had” which was a “little golden ticket” to use.

For two years, Ore hosted the Strictly Arena tour, speaking in front of thousands of fans and even taking part in a few dance routines.

Claiming that most people would ‘run for the hills’, Ore confessed that he loves being on stage in front of a lot of people and that it gave him the confidence to take the leap.

Although he was certainly not ashamed as a presenter, after Strictly he became aware of his place in the TV pecking order.

He admitted that he worked a lot for two and a half years after Strictly, but never got a job.

Ore added that he “loved performing on Strictly” and knew he had something “really special that not many people had” which was a “little golden ticket” to use.

He added that if he didn’t have something that was a “passion of his own,” he would simply end up on the “scrap heap,” which would mean the end of his career.

While the BBC show may have been his ‘golden ticket’ to reignite his dream of becoming a stage star, that didn’t stop him from proving himself again and again once the doors opened.

He grafted Grease, Cinderella and The Rocky Horror Show, to name a few, before reaching leading status.

He claimed he had to “do my very best” to get to a point where he knew he could be “an asset to any company.”

The star confessed that the decision to throw himself on stage and ‘see what happens’ was ‘pretty easy’ and now, eight years later, he is set to take on his first leading role in Chitty Chitty Bang Scared.

Ore takes over the role of Caractacus Potts, made famous by Dick Van Dyke in 1968, from stage favorite Adam Garcia.